你對樹木所不瞭解的另一面(上)
Trees tend to be ignored because they don't do much—until you look closer. Then, they just get weird. From unexpected forms of communication between themselves and other forms of life to the deadly measures they take to ensure their own survival, trees can rightfully demand a whole new level of respect.
樹木常因默默無聞而被人們忽略，若不是認真走近它們，我們永遠也無法瞭解樹木的神奇世界。你是否知道，樹木與自然界其他生物的互動方式超乎人類想象，同時它們無時無刻不在爲自己的生存而勇敢奮鬥着。Explode
10.他們會爆炸
If a military sadist that gives kindergarten names was ever allowed to design a plant, the sandbox tree would be it. Poison sits in nearly every part of the leaves, bark, and pumpkin-shaped seeds. The entire 30-meter (100 ft) trunk deters tree huggers with its closely packed thorns. And the seeds explode with such force that people and animals can easily get injured. While this is a good way for the tree to spread its seeds up to 40 meters (130 ft) away, the ejection speed is what makes it so lethal.
如果讓一位軍事愛好者設計一株植物，沙盒樹當選無疑。沙盒樹的葉子、樹皮和種子的各個部分都充滿毒素。密密麻麻的刺佈滿它30米寬的樹幹，這可是將破壞者拒之門外的好方法。另外，沙盒樹的種子會爆炸，其威力強大到輕而易舉就能使人和動物受傷。沙盒樹的爆炸能幫助沙盒樹將種子發射至40米遠外的地方生根發芽，這也同時是它的殺傷力所在。
Clocking in at a deadly 240 kilometers per hour (150 mph), a nearby cow or human will actually get “shot” and can end up with serious wounds. If, for some inexplicable reason, a person decides to snack on the stuff, the explosive seeds can cause vomiting and diarrhea, and the tree sap is sadistically fond of ruining whatever it touches. It will bring about horrific skin rashes and blind the eyes. One thing is for sure: The sandbox tree is no indoor potted plant.
爆炸時，其種子的散播速度可達每小時240千米，一旦附近的人或牛被擊中，便會身負重傷。如果不明真相的人們吃了散落的種子，會出現嘔吐、腹瀉的症狀。沙盒樹的樹液也是心狠手辣的角色，若不小心接觸到，人們會得皮疹甚至有雙眼失明的危險。總之，有件事一定要記住：不要在室內養沙盒樹。Employ Bodyguards
9.僱傭保安的合歡樹
It's kind of obvious that a tree is a lump of trunk that cannot shoo away any animals interested in a nibble. While it cannot help itself, this doesn't mean that trees are now on the free menu. They are known for hiring bodyguards, and nothing keeps a hungry herbivore away like an ant up the nose.
手無縛雞之力的樹幹並不能將覬覦自己的侵犯者趕走，但這可不意味着樹木是任人宰割的免費羔羊。The acacia tree has its own militia of hostile ants which it rewards with shelter and a special food. And it's not just any old hamburger. It's laced with molecules called protease inhibitors that block a specific enzyme that bugs need to digest protein. In other words, it's a poor and dangerous meal for insects. Except for the tree's army of ants. When they eat it, it doesn't affect them in the least and is very nutritious. It's a good deal for both; one receives shelter and exclusive food they don't have to compete or search for and, in return, the ants attack anything trying to harm the tree.
合歡樹有它自己的護衛隊——螞蟻，相應的，螞蟻也可以因其護衛有功而收穫樹幹這個庇護所和美味營養的食物。可千萬別以爲螞蟻獲得的美食是漢堡包哦！真相是這樣的：合歡樹的樹幹含有一種蛋白質抑制劑分子，該分子抑制了某種酶的分泌，這種酶是其他蟲子消化蛋白質必須依賴的。被繞暈了沒有？簡單說，就是除了合歡樹的螞蟻護衛隊，合歡樹中所包含的抑制劑分子對其他昆蟲都是危險的食物。因此，一方面，螞蟻可以將樹幹作爲庇護所同時享受無盡美食；另一方面，合歡樹有了螞蟻的保衛，可以輕鬆的打敗任何前來侵犯的敵人。這真是一場愉快的雙贏合作呀。ide
8.自殺
A newly discovered palm tree must kill itself in order to procreate. These trees spend so much energy in order to attract pollinators that they have no sustenance left, and they die soon after bearing fruit. Cashew farmers accidentally discovered this oddity in Madagascar's Analalava district and were dumbstruck by its mammoth dimensions. The 18-meter-high (58.5 ft) trunk adorned with sweeping 5-meter-wide (16 ft) leaves forms a pyramid-shaped plant so immense that it can be seen from space.
一項最新發現，棕櫚樹爲了生殖很可能殺了它自己。這些樹爲了吸引授粉，將消耗能量消耗殆盡，以致於沒有留下任何食物，並在結了果實之後很快死去。腰果的農民在馬達加斯加的阿納拉拉瓦區偶然發現這一怪異現象，他們被棕櫚樹的巨大尺寸嚇得目瞪口呆。這棵高達18米（58.5尺）的樹幹被5米寬的葉子裝飾成一個金字塔形狀，它是如此巨大，以致於從很遠的地方就能看見它。Flowering is the point of no return for this rare giant. Hundreds of tiny blooms adorn the stem tip when it begins its fatal cycle, and these blooms contain copious amounts of nectar that are highly successful in attracting the desired birds and insects. Each and every flower can be fertilized, which is perhaps why the palm doesn't survive the mass fruiting. It literally gives up the nutrients it needs to survive in order to create the next generation. This certainly boosts Madagascar's weird wilderness factor.
這株稀世植物開花之時，也預示着它生命的終結。當它開始命中註定的循環時，成千上百的花朵裝飾了莖尖，這些花朵包含了大量豐富的花蜜，成功地吸引到了飢渴的鳥兒和昆蟲。每一朵花都能受精，這可能就是爲什麼這顆棕櫚樹不能在大規模的結果中存活下來的原因。照字面來說，爲了創造下一代，它放棄了它需要用來存活的營養物質。毫無疑問，它推動了馬達加斯加怪異的荒野因素。Touch Immortality
7.他們觸到了不朽
Trees are some of the oldest living organisms on the planet. Left in optimal conditions, there seems to be no limit on how old they'll become. There is a spruce alive in Sweden today (pictured above) that was a seedling at the end of the last ice age. This traditional “Christmas tree” is at first glance a disappointing sight, considering that it's 9,550 years old. Discovered in 2004, the Norway spruce looks like a normal young tree about 4 meters (13 ft) tall, but the secret to its longevity lies in its ability to clone itself. Whenever its trunk dies, a new one grows from the roots which are the truly ancient parts of the tree.
樹是星球上最古老的生物之一。在最佳條件下，它們的壽命會不受限制地持續下去。有一顆存活在現今的瑞典的雲杉（如上圖），它曾經是最後一個冰河世紀末端的一顆小樹苗。考慮到它已經有9550歲了，這顆傳統的“聖誕樹”第一眼看起來頗有一幅令人失望的景象。挪威雲杉在2004年被發現的時候，看起來像一顆正常的年輕的樹，它大概4米（13尺）高，但是它長壽的祕密在於它克隆自己的能力。無論何時它的軀幹死了，都能有一個新的軀幹從這棵樹真正古老的部分——樹根里長出來。Mount Etna in Sicily is home to the oldest chestnut tree in the world, an old-timer possibly 4,000 years old and certified Guinness World Record holder for the largest girth at 58 meters (190 ft) in circumference. Some bristlecone pines from California's White Mountains have been watching the world go by for up to 5,000 years and are still going strong. With this incredible time-defying ability, it's tragic to note that trees in cities average a lifespan of about 13 years.
西西里島的埃特納火山是世界上最古老的慄樹的家鄉，這顆慄樹前輩可能有4000歲並且被吉尼斯世界紀錄持有人認證它擁有最大的周長，一圈有58米（19尺）長。一些加利福尼亞州的懷特山狐尾鬆已經看了將近5000年的世界經歷，現在仍舊堅強地活下去。因爲世界上有這種不臣服於時間的植物存在，所以城市裏的樹木短短13年的壽命難免會使我們覺得悲傷。Their Own Fertilizer
6.自體供肥
Researchers have discovered a new ability in trees that have been chopped down. Somehow, the remaining stump draws nitrogen from the air and fertilizes the area around itself with this powerful nutrient for plants. Tropical forest trees are apparently quite good at this. After being logged, they also capture carbon from the atmosphere which allows them a better chance at recovery. Nor are the trees stingy. The nutrients are released into the immediate area which allows nearby plant life to also benefit from the captured plant food. This ability to draw nitrogen from the air is something trees can switch on or off depending on the plant's needs, but only certain species can do it. During the early stages of forest regrowth, the difference in recovery between those that can and those that can't is markedly different. Tree species that lack this ability put on carbon weight up to nine times slower than their nutrient-fishing cousins.
科學家們發現，被砍倒的大樹有一項新奇的本領。樹樁的殘餘部分從大氣和周圍的肥料中努力吸取氮元素來滿足自身需求，熱帶植物在這方面顯得尤其擅長。在被砍伐之後，它們爲了爭取生存，會不斷地從大氣中吸取二氧化碳。植物們並非吝嗇小氣之徒，它們所吸收的營養成分會滲入自身周圍，進而使周圍的植物也能從中得益，享受到斷木的給予。植物從空氣中吸收氮的這種能力會隨着其對營養元素的需求發生或增或減的變化，但這種變化只有少數植物能夠實現。在植物再生長的早期階段，自身免疫和吸收營養的能力能把植物之間明顯得區分開來。那些缺乏吸碳能力的植物會比其他植物吸碳慢九倍。翻譯:哈利小王子 來源:前十網
